


Creep

by gingersnapsandbubblewrap



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/F, Slow Burn, dealing with breakups and shit, i'm pricefield trash, max is gay as shit and so is chloe, mentions of frank/rachel, rocker chloe and amateur detective max, some fluff some angst, suicide mentions/post-suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-29 21:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5142662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingersnapsandbubblewrap/pseuds/gingersnapsandbubblewrap
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Chloe is the lead singer of a local punk band and Max is on a mission to find her missing friend. After a concert gets too rough and Max gets caught up in the crossfire, Chloe gets herself tangled in Max's quest to find her friend and Max finds herself falling for Chloe-- hard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Max Caulfield

**Author's Note:**

> My first-ever fic! Loved the video game and characters so much I had to write them into one of my stories and...here it is! Criticism is much appreciated, please and thanks. Enjoy!

Chapter 1-- Max Caulfield

A shoulder slammed into Max, followed by raucous laughter. "Sorry," she mumbled, probably too low to hear over the blaring music. She pushed her way through the crowd, sweating under her cardigan and shorts.

There was a loud screech of feedback, and the entire bar winced. Max swiveled to look at the makeshift stage.

"Uh, sorry about that," said the singer, a lanky, blue-haired girl. She cleared her throat. “We’re Butterfly Effect and we’re here to rock this hole-in-the-wall to the fukkin’ ground!” She grinned wolfishly and Max felt a heat rise to her face. The girl with the blue hair stepped back to pick up her guitar and nodded solemnly to the bassist and drummer.

“One! Two! Three! Four!” The drummer shouted. The band started up with a smash of crashing drums and strummed chords. Max shook her head. She had work to do.

_“It kills me not to know this, but I’ve all but just forgotten_

_what the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got ‘em,”_ The singer half-snarled, half-sang into the mic. Max pushed her way back towards the barstools, eager to get out of the crowd at least for now. She all but collapsed onto the barstool as finally, finally, she escaped the crush of bodies.

“Some band, huh? Guess they’re pretty popular in the area.” Max looked up and saw the bartender looking expectantly for a response.

“Oh, uh...yeah,” She said a little awkwardly. Small talk? Not exactly her strong suit.

“What can I get for you?” The bartender asked. Max scanned the rows of alcohol lining the shelves.

“Um. You got Sprite?” The bartender quirked an eyebrow at her but said nothing, turning to retrieve a glass. Max turned to look at the band again.

 _“So tell me now if this ain’t love then how do we get out? ‘Cuz I don’t know--”_ The singer turned to Max and in a split second it seemed to Max that she winked at her. _God_ , Max thought, surprised at how flustered she felt. _Her eyes are so blue._

“Here’s your pop,” the bartender said.

“What? Oh. Thank you,” Max replied, jerked out of her...whatever the hell just happened. She stared into her cup. She could rewind, see if the girl had really winked. At her.

No. No, no no no that was an incredibly dumb use of the power. Max mentally slapped herself. Focus. She downed the Sprite and swallowed hard, imagining herself as one of those hard-boiled detectives from the black-and-white films. Badass.

“What kinds of customers do you have around here?” she asked the bartender, trying to sound nonchalant. The man eyed her, sizing up the question in his mind before he answered.

“All kinds. Rockers, drifters, motorcycle buffs. Businessmen drunk off their ass before they step in the door.”

_“That's when she said I don't hate you boy, I just want to save you while there's still something left to save--”_

“What about high school kids?” The bartender stopped and looked up.

“We don’t allow underage kids in here,” he said. He put down the cup he was polishing and leaned in towards Max. “What are you, police? Look a tad young for that.”

Shit. Max flicked her wrist under the table and her surroundings blurred, lurching backwards in time.

 _“...While there’s still something left to save! Whoa--oh--”_ Max swayed a little in her seat, head throbbing.

“You okay, miss?”

“Yeah, I’m good, sorry.” The bartender shook his head and went back to polishing his cup.

“No need to apologize.”

“I guess you have the occasional kids who sneak in here, huh?” Max said.

“Sometimes. Our bouncer is good about finding ‘em, though,” the bartender said.

“I’m actually looking for someone around high school age,” Max explained. “Maybe she came in here?”

“Thought you were leading up to that. Why’re you looking for her?” He set the cup down and looked her straight in the eye.

“I’m a friend. Not after her or anything, I promise,” Max said as sincerely as she could. The burly man crossed his arms and leaned back.

“I guess I believe you. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, who knows, maybe I just hope she’s got someone looking after her for the right reasons.”

“She was here, though?” Max said eagerly. “Seventeen, shorter than I am, lots of light brown hair?”

“That’s her. She came in looking like she hadn’t slept in days, even asked after a job here. Her I.D. was fake-- a pretty shitty excuse for one, too. But she looked…” he trailed off, shaking his head.

_“One thousand miles away, there’s nothing left to say, there’s so much left that I don’t know--”_

“Anyway,” the bartender continued. “I couldn’t keep her in the bar. But I made sure she got to the train station safe. That’s all I could really do.” He looked up at Max. “That’s all I know, all right?”

          "Thank you,” Max said. “Really.”

“Hope you do her some more good than I did.”

Max turned back towards the crowd. The band swelled to a deafening roar. Max snuck a glance up to the blue-haired singer once more; she was completely enraptured in the final verse of the song, eyes shut tight, holding the microphone close to her chest and pouring her heart into it from the stage. Wowzers. Wish I could get caught up in a moment like she can.

Max pulled her eyes away and began making her way through the crowd. It was even rowdier than before. Max had hardly pushed her way into the crowd before she was roughly pushed straight into someone smelling of booze and sweat. He toppled the moment she was shoved, spilling his strong-smelling drink all over and cursing over the loud music.

“Fuck!” he screamed.

“Sorry, sorry!” Max shouted.

“You spilled my fucking drink, bitch!” he slurred. Max stumbled to her feet, but he caught her arm and tightened around it with surprising strength. Shit. I have to go back, Max thought. His other arm swung around and hit her in the face and she fell backward with a shout of surprise. Her ear stung and began to ring.

 _Dammit. Dammit, I can’t concentrate in this state_. The noises around her were too loud, the crowd pressing in too hard on all sides. The guitar blasted a chord before screeching to a halt onstage.

“Get off, dammit!” the man who’d struck her screamed. Max heard something shatter on the ground with her good ear and got up just in time to see a fistfight break out.

“Stop...stop it!” Max shouted. The people grew louder as a commotion broke out.

“Hey, what the fuck?” the singer shouted from the stage. There was a screech as the mic was dropped, but Max couldn’t turn to see the stage; she was pinned against the press of the people on one side and the brawl breaking out on the other.

“Stop!” she shouted again, to whom she wasn’t sure, and a lurch from behind pushed her into the fray. Something hard connected with the side of her head and pain erupted from her skull, radiating out like trickles of blood. Was she bleeding? Shit. Shit shit shit.

She barely registered hitting the ground. Her vision had become blurry and unfocused. She felt, dimly, the sticky floor underneath her cheek, something warm dripping down her face. She heard someone shout from the crowd: let me through, or maybe let me go. She saw the shoes in the crowd part and a pair of combat boots rushed towards her, black leather soles hitting the ground in slow-motion thuds. The shoes were so black in the dim light of the bar that Max fell into it and suddenly felt nothing at all.

  
  


***

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Max’s head throbbed. She groaned and turned over, pressing her face into the pillow before it hit her: Max had a head. She gave her hand an experimental wiggle. Hands too. That’ll definitely be useful later. And legs. I’m the whole package.

She opened her eyes, expecting to be blinded by the morning sun, but the light was dim. She sat up carefully, lifting a hand to her head. Yikes. The initial jolt of pain subsided and she carefully felt around. It was definitely swollen, probably black and blue by now. Her fingers traced her hairline until a rough, woven material caught her notice. Someone had placed a bandage on her head. Okay, Max, slow down. Where are you right now? She looked around in the dim light. She was placed in a bed, still in her clothes from last night (Max took a hesitant sniff. Ew, gross. Still smells like alcohol). There was a guitar set in the corner, and some posters with bands she couldn’t distinguish in the dim light scowling down at her from their place on the walls. What happened last night?

Tick. Tick. Tick. Ti-- _It’s more than a fee-ling, when I hear that old song they used to play…_

The clock on the bedside table burst into song and Max jumped embarrassingly high. I begin dreaming (More than a feeling) Till I see Marianne walk a-waay...Max picked up the clock blaring 80’s guitar riffs and searched for the “off” button. Dammit, Max, make it shut up… she hit a few buttons and, mercifully, it stopped. She took a deep breath and set it down.

“Oh, you’re already up,” said a voice from the door. Max jumped again and immediately felt a hot blush creep onto her face. She was slouched in the doorway, wearing a smirk.

She looks familiar, Max thought. She studied the face-- sharp jaw, wolflike blue eyes, lanky arms and legs, blue hair--

“The band! Y-you were in the band last night!” Max blurted. The girl in the doorway nodded.

“Glad we’re not total strangers. That’d make this a whole lot creepier.” The girl sauntered over to the bed and sat on the mattress beside her. “Chloe. Chloe Price. Lead singer of Butterfly Effect, total asshole and occasional good samaritan. A pleasure.” She stuck out a hand and Max shook it a little uneasily.

“Uh, Max Caulfield. I’m...not good at witty intros,” she replied. Chloe smirked.

“You kinda got tangled up in a barfight,” she explained.

“Yeah, I definitely remember that part,” Max said, hand instinctively reaching for the bandage on her head and brushing it lightly with just the tips of her fingers.

“You got clobbered. Pretty hard, too, it took you right out. I got you out of the way and David called the cops to break up the guys. They were gonna take anyone involved in, but…” Chloe looked a little sheepish, running a hand through her hair. “...I’ve woken up in a jail cell hugover before. It’s not fun. And anyways, you didn’t even hit anyone. So I told the cops you were my sister and brought you back here.” Max nodded numbly.

“Th-thank you.” Chloe shot her a smile.

“Yeah, anytime.” Max opened her mouth to say something that she forgot instantly. Chloe’s eyes were hypnotizing up close.

Uh, okay Max, she thought to herself, heat rising slowly to her face. That’s...kinda gay.

“You okay?” Chloe asked, craning her neck a little forward. “Looked like you were seriously spacing out.”

“Yes! I'm ga-- good. I'm all good,” Max replied hastily. She tore her gaze away. “Nice t-shirt.” Chloe was wearing a loose tank top featuring a swirling array of flowers around a grinning skull. The shirt hung loose on her wiry form, and Max could see her black bra just under-- No! Bad Max! Don't think about her bra, you perv!

Chloe seemed not to notice her staring. “Thanks. Thrift store, yo. So…I can drop you off wherever you're crashing, if you want. Promise I'm not gonna dump  your body in a ditch somewhere?”

Shit. “Yeah, um...I'm not actually crashing anywhere? I'm a little...homeless,” Max confessed. Chloe raised her eyebrows.

“Really? I didn't peg you as the drifter type.”

“I'm not! I, uh...I'm only in town...looking for someone.” Chloe tilted her head.

“Yeah? Who?”

“Just...just a friend of mine. From school.” Chloe was staring intently at her now, expecting more out of the story, but Max studied the bedspread instead.

“Well...okay,” Chloe said. “If you want, stay here for awhile. I don't mind. ‘S just me here, anyways.” She rose from the bed.

“I...don't know what to say,” Max said. “Thank you. Really.”

“No prob. I like you, Max,” Chloe said casually-- Max’s heart skipped a beat -- “Feel free to crash here for however long. Oh, and Max?”

“Yeah?” Max said. Chloe smiled and crinkled her nose.

“Take a shower. You smell like stale booze.” Mac felt a blush rise rapidly to her face as Chloe left the room. 


	2. Chloe Price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short pricefield minific to precede the new chapter:  
> Everyone in Arcadia Bay is safe and happy and no one is dead or sad, except for Mr. Jefferson, who is both.  
> Max and Chloe get married and everyone is emotionally sound and everyone is okay.  
> Enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 2-- Chloe Price

 

The shower turned on, the rush of water audible through the thin walls of the apartment. Chloe sighed and flopped down onto the couch. _God, this place is a fucking mess._ Her eyes skimmed the perimeter of the small living room/kitchen, wincing a little at the dirty plates overflowing from the sink, the trash built up on the countertops and scattered along the floor. The walls were covered in grimy, peeling wallpaper, revealing an even more disgusting wall underneath ( _It’s totally no big,_ Chloe had reassured her mother. _I can repaper once I get all moved in and it’ll look way better._ She’d never even bought new wallpaper). Even the sofa she was lying on was gross. She’d found the tattered piece of crap by the side of the road half a year ago, this orange eyesore with half the filling falling out from rips and tears in the canvas, but hey, free couch. A little duct tape and three flights of stairs up to Chloe’s apartment and it became a sort of symbol of Chloe’s new life here; uncomfortable, sure, and kinda gross, but it was hers and hers alone. That was enough to make Chloe love the busted-up piece of shit.

She wasn’t quite so attached to the beer cans and empty bottles of hair dye. Chloe swept those anxiously into the trash. She probably hella thinks you’re a hobo, Chlo. Get your shit together, come on. The dishes were next after the trash was close to overflowing-- she could take that out later. She started up the hot water and turned on the CD player. _Can’t clean without some tunes, yo._

The mix was one she’d got from an old friend, a going-away present. Listening to it was still a little painful in that way, but it’d been a year and the playlist was still way good. The old CD player whirred for a solid minute before Track 1 started with a familiar guitar riff. _God, I’d play this at my birth, wedding, and funeral,_ Chloe thought.

_“Comin’ outta my cage and I been doing just fine,_

_Gotta, gotta be down because I want it all.”_

Chloe lifted a single soapy hand to crank the song loud enough for the neighbors to hear. _They won’t mind, nobody can complain about the fucking Killers_ , she reassured herself, and hummed along in content. The warm water felt good on her fingers, still calloused and sore from the gig last night.

_“Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cab_

_While he’s having a smoke, and she’s taking a drag…”_   Chloe realized all of a sudden she wasn’t the only one in the house singing along. Distantly, Chloe heard another voice above the booming music and rushing water. Slowly, she turned off the sink and tilted her head to hear.

_“Jealousy, turning saints into the sea_

_Swimming through sick lullabies…”_   Through the thin walls of the apartment Max could be heard singing along at the top of her lungs. Chloe flicked suds from her hands and went to go stand at the bathroom door, half amused and half a different feeling-- something that made color rise to her cheeks and her heart jump a little in her chest that Chloe absolutely did not want to think about. She closed her eyes, pressed her back against the door, and listened intently.

_“...Choking on your alibis_

_But it’s just the price I pay, destiny is calling me…_ " _  
_

Max’s voice wasn’t exactly melodic-- she sounded just like, surprise, surprise, a regular girl singing in the shower. But something about her voice made Chloe get lost in it-- Max seemed like she was always so shy, so guarded. She sang like she had completely let her guard down. Chloe almost felt like a pervert-- it was too open, too personal, like reading a diary or some shit. But not enough to stop listening.

_“Open up my eager eyes--”_

\--And on this line, Chloe couldn’t help but burst into song alongside her--

  _“‘Cuz I’m Mr. Brightside.”_

The shower stopped. Chloe heard a hurried shuffle behind the door and a dripping-wet Max poked her head out, wrapped in a towel and blushing furiously.

Chloe grinned ( _that shit-eating smile_ , Rachel used to call it) and leaned casually against the doorframe.

“You’ve got one helluva good voice, Max,” she said in a tone she hoped was nonchalant.

“I--” Max spluttered, face growing redder by the second. God, she’s cute. Keep your cool, Chloe.

“Sorry. It was too cute not to sing along to,” Chloe said, and almost without meaning to her eyes dropped down towards her lips for half a second, maybe less. Max blushed harder, but took a step forward hesitantly.

_I could kiss her right now,_ Chloe realized, and her heart leapt in her chest. Immediately she felt heat rise to her face. _Whoa, where the hell did that come from? You barely know this girl. But she took a step closer in return. Oh god oh god this is it, I’m going to kiss another girl whose name I’ll forget. I’m just going to end up in another one-night stand, is that it? But I thought...maybe this one was...no, no, I only want this, I don’t want any of the feelings, just the sex...just another face...kiss her, dammit, what are you waiting for?_

“Pancakes,” Max blurted. Chloe blinked.

“Um...what?” Max took a step backwards and a warm smile lit up her entire face.

“I’ll make you pancakes. As a...as a thank-you.” Chloe felt herself grow awkward and totally flustered. It was not a feeling she was used to.

“Oh. Oh, sure, that would be great. Thank you.” She took a step backward clumsily. _Of course she doesn’t wanna kiss you, you prick_ , she thought, but deep down she almost felt relieved. “‘S gotta be better than my shitty cooking.” She forced out a laugh, and Max laughe along to her profound relief.

“I’m sure your cooking is fine. Just...let me get dressed, okay?” Max said.

“Oh! You can...borrow some of my clothes, if you want,” Chloe said. _Shit, I forgot she isn’t even dressed. Stop being such a fucking creep, Chlo_. “Just rummage through my closet till you find something you like. I’ll be in the kitchen.” Max nodded and shut the door.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and went back to washing dishes, CD player still blaring by the sink. _Okay, what the hell was that?_ Chloe thought to herself. _You got yourself all worked up because of this girl and you barely know her. Know what your problem is, Chloe Price?_ She plunged another plate into the warm water and scrubbed at the whatever-the-hell was glued to its surface. _You fall in love too damn quickly._

“Ready for the mosh pit, shakah brah!” chirped a voice behind her. She turned around and almost immediately snorted loudly. Max was all decked-out in Chloe’s rocker wear, all a size too big on her; a large flannel with rips and tears was layered over a black the Clash t-shirt, combined with a pair of jeans and a black silver-studded belt cinched tight enough to keep her jeans on Max’s skinny-ass hips.

“Something tells me you aren’t really the punk-rock type, _'_ _s_ _hakah brah'_ ,” Chloe managed to get out. Max laughed nervously, fixing her eyes self-consciously on the floor and blushed for about the fifteenth time this morning. _Jesus, this girl is going to pass out with all the blood rushing to her head._ “Hey, I’m not saying it doesn’t look hella on you, Miss Maxine Caulfield.” Chloe shot her a wink and Max laughed it off.

“Thank you. For everything,” Max said sincerely.

“It’s no problem,” Chloe replied. “So...what brings you into town, anyway? Besides my shitty garage band.”

“No, no, I thought you were really good,” Max insisted. Chloe made a show of rolling her eyes. “But...you’re right. I didn’t come just for the local music scene. I came here because...I’m looking for someone.”

“Yeah, you said so earlier.” Chloe waited for the rest of the story, but Max seemed like she was totally spacing. “Hey, maybe you can talk a little better with coffee?”

“Yes please,” Max said eagerly, and Chloe took out a couple of mugs and began to make some.

“Okay, so spill. Who’s this friend of yours?”

“Kate. Kate Marsh,” Max said quietly. Chloe nodded encouragingly. “She...disappeared a few weeks ago.”

“What makes you think she’s here?”

“I...don’t,” Max confessed. “It’s a hunch. I asked around, and someone said she’d bought a bus ticket. I found the stub--here.” Max waved a ticket with the date and time almost ten days ago stamped on the front. “Something was bothering her before she ran away...but I was too much of a selfish asshole to make time to help her.” With alarm Chloe watched Max’s eyes brim with tears. “She ran away because I couldn’t be there for her. This is all my fault.”

“Hey, none of that,” Chloe said, trying her best to imitate her mother’s soothing tone. She pushed a mugful of coffee towards her. “Look, you’re trying to do something good. That’s...that’s good.”

“You don’t understand,” Max snapped. “It’s because of me. I wasn’t a good enough friend. This is the only way I can make it up to her, is if I find her and bring her back to Blackwell.”

“So, you find her. Easy-peasy,” Chloe said.

“I might not be able to,” Max said softly. “I tracked her here, but...the bartender last night said she took the train. Who knows where she is now.”

“The train?” Chloe repeated. Max nodded. “Wait, no, the train won’t be leaving for another week, at least. Didn’t you hear about the delays?” Max immediately sat straight up.

“What? What delays?”

“The train tracks got completely wrecked last night. There was this huge storm that knocked over a bunch of trees and shit in the way...they won’t be able to leave for another week.”

Max stood so quickly she knocked over her chair.  “That means...Kate is still here?”

“I’d bet my ass, yeah,” Chloe said. “And I’m gonna help you find her.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used here was "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers. If you haven't already you need to check it out because holy shit I lo v e


	3. Max Caulfield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some plot and character setup stuff before we get into the real nitty-gritty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry that I've been AWOL for awhile, I just finished up with finals so the next chapters should be up quicker. Enjoy!

Chapter 3-- Max Caulfield

 

Max stood outside the tattoo parlor, bouncing anxiously on the balls of her feet. _Calm down, Max, don’t be such a spaz. She’ll be right back in a sec_. She stopped bouncing and tilted her head back to squint at the sky. It was still blanketed in heavy clouds.

The door on the tattoo parlor swung open and Chloe strode out.

“Marco says he hasn’t seen anyone by your description, but he’ll keep his eye out.”

“Just one?” Max asked.

“Only one he’s got.” Chloe shrugged.

“Oh.” Max took a glance inside at the man behind the counter, a mean-looking man with an eyepatch. _Marcos, I guess_.

“Sorry, kid,” Chloe said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans.

“That’s...that’s okay,” Max replied. She smiled. _She’s so nice for everything she’s done...I can’t let her know how frustrated I am. She’s done so much._

“I know a few more people around town who’d know something,” Chloe offered. “C’mon.” she opened the passenger side of her beat-up truck and made a sweeping gesture to Max.

“Why thank you, sir,” Max said in a ridiculous voice.

“At your service, kind lady,” Chloe replied in an awful British accent. She jogged around to the front and hopped into the driver’s side. “Okay, so I was thinking--” she was cut off by a tinny, warbling song. “Hold that thought,” she said, and took out her phone.

Her playful smile quickly melted from her face. Max could’ve sworn she grew paler.

“Chloe?” Max said. “Everything okay?” Chloe snapped out of it long enough to silence the phone without picking up, tossing it casually to the side as if nothing had happened.

“Yeah! Cool beans, everything’s fine. So. Before we hit up someplace else, I was thinking...tacos?”

 _Yikes, avoidant much?_ Max thought, but she only smiled and said “Tacos sound great.”

“Great.” Chloe revved the car and pulled out, only missing the bumper of the car next to her by an inch. _So much for safe driving_ , Max thought remorsefully as Chloe pulled onto the road. A car honked angrily.

“Yeah, fuck you too!” Chloe yelled almost reflexively. Max’s stomach lurched. The truck finally seemed to find its lane, and everything settled into a peaceful rumble and blur of scenery as Max spaced, gazing out the window at nothing at all. _What am I doing here?_ She mused. _I don’t even know this girl._ She rested her forehead against the cool pane and closed her eyes. _I just want to find Kate and everything will be back to normal._

“You all right over there, kid?” Chloe asked. Max snapped up.

“How old are you, anyway?” Max asked.

“What?” Chloe said. “I’m nineteen. Why?”

“I’m only a year younger than you. I’m not a ‘kid’,” Max said.

“What, really?” Chloe shrugged. “Guess it was the big doe eyes. Coulda sworn you were younger than eighteen.” _Doe eyes?_ Max wondered. She slunk a little lower in the seat. “Whatever,” Chloe said. “We’re almost to that taco place I promised you.”

Max marvelled at the symbolic location they’d arrived at: a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that seemed to serve as an artistic parallel to the girl who’d driven her here. _Kinda dirty and rough-looking outside, warm and inviting inside,_ Max marvelled. Wow. _If my freshman-year English teacher could see me now…_

“Whaddaya want?” Chloe asked.

“Um…” Max squinted at the sign. It was all in Spanish. “...Tacos?” Chloe snorted and said something unintelligible to the guy behind the counter.

“I got you, kid, no worries.”

“I told you, I’m not a kid,” Max insisted. “Not to you, anyway.”

“Guess I’ll have to come up with a different nickname, then...cutie?” Max gave her a dour look, hoping her face wasn’t turning red again. “Okay, maybe not that one.”

“Tacos,” grunted the man, pushing a tray towards them. Chloe turned, scooped up the tray and started confidently towards the table.

“Pop a squat,” she said, offering a chair. “These are the best in town, I swear to god.” Max took a tiny bite. “So?”

“These are amazing,” Max said through a mouthful of food. Chloe winked.

“Told you, nerd.” Both let the silence fall, busying themselves with eating, before Chloe spoke up again. “This is gonna sound hella weird, but...I swear I’ve met you before.” Max looked up and caught Chloe’s eyes, suddenly unable to look away.

 _I thought I was the only one thinking it,_ she thought to herself. _But I feel totally...well, calm isn’t the word, but...something about her seems familiar. Almost like I already knew Chloe from somewhere._

Max swallowed. “I...maybe? I don’t think so.” There was a pause. For just a moment, it seemed as though everything went quiet, and Chloe was the only thing in the world. Max could have sworn something like recognition pressing against the back of her mind.

Chloe dropped her gaze. “Yeah, guess not. Maybe you’ve got one of those faces, puppy-eyes.” Max heaved a sigh.

“So, where to next?”

“I was thinking maybe the train station,” Chloe said. “I mean...maybe she’s still hanging around there? Lease we could do is check to see how long you’ve got till the tracks are repaired.” She stood. “Ready, Maximus?”

“C’mon, quit it with the nicknames,” Max chastised. Chloe broke out her signature Cheshire-cat grin.

“Not a chance.. _.Caul_ -i-flower.” Chloe cackled.

Max groaned internally and clambered into the truck.

“Wonder how many other puns I could milk out of that?” Chloe continued. “I mean, Maxi-Pad is way too obvious...maybe something like--” the ring of the cell cut her off once more. Chloe paled again. “Whoa, uh...deja vu.” She didn’t even look at her phone before switching it off.

“Are you...okay?” Max asked tentatively.

“Yeah, I’m…” Chloe started, then deflated. “...Shit. Let’s just go to the train station.” She started the engine and began to drive, eyes fixed on the road. Max sensed a tension in the silence not present before, a lingering feeling of unasked questions.

“Can I ask who that was?” Max tried.

“No,” Chloe said sharply.

“Okay, okay.” Another pause. Chloe’s hands were gripping the wheel too tightly now, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

“It was just an old...friend of mine,” Chloe said. Max nodded. “We kinda have a history, it’s this whole ordeal.”

“Ex-boyfriend?” Max asked.

“Ex- _girlfriend_ ,” Chloe corrected. Max shifted in her seat. “Why? Does that _bother_ you or something?” There was an edge in Chloe’s voice now, a bitterness that Max hadn’t heard before.

“No,” Max said a little too quickly. “Why would it?” Chloe looked over at her briefly, studying her. “Okay,” she said finally. She took a deep breath and released it. “Fuck, I can’t take the silence. Switch on the radio, would you?”

“Sure,” Max replied, grateful for the opportunity to do something. She flipped the radio on and adjusted the knob until faint music could be heard over the static. She cranked it up. Acoustic guitar blared over the car stereo.

_“I guess by the bloodstain of your lips_

_And the wander of your fingertips_

_I should stay true to my emptiness and_

_Stay here.”_

Max closed her eyes, sinking deep into the music. The roar of the road under the tires and the rumble of the engine faded away as she focused on the words.

_“I’m just a kid of ill repute_

_But this skin I wear is my only suit_

_And you, you’re just a substitute_

_For the one that I hold dear.”_

_ ***  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Despite What You've Been Told" by Two Gallants. I think it's a really Chloe song in a lot of ways, give it a listen if you're interested.


	4. Chloe Price

Chapter 4-- Chloe Price

 

Chloe climbed out of the truck and slammed the door behind her. _Flying off the handle like that was stupid. Stupid Chloe. Fucking Stupid Rachel. What the hell are you even calling for?_ She thought to herself. She made sure that Max wasn’t looking and switched off her phone, ditching it in the truck for good measure. _I’m done with your bullshit, Rachel. Just leave me alone for ten seconds._

“It looks abandoned,” Max said. Chloe looked up at the train station.

“I guess. Or it could just be a shitty train station in a shitty town. C’mon.” She started off across the parking lot, Max trailing behind her. It really was a piece of shit-- graffiti was visible on the walls outside the platform, covered up here and there with fliers for anything and everything.

“Hey, look,” Max said. She pointed to a flyer for the Butterfly Effect-- the date was yesterday at the bar where they’d met. Chloe stepped closer and squinted, acting as though it was her first time laying eyes on it.

“Mm, looks like some amateur assholes. Kind of a lame name, too, if you ask me.” Max let out the most fucking adorable laugh Chloe had heard and punched her lightly on the shoulder.

“I think it’s neat,” she said. “‘the Butterfly Effect’. Very cool.” Chloe stuffed her hands in her pockets and hoped she wasn’t grinning like a dork.

“...Anyway. Let’s take a look around, yeah?” Max nodded.

“Pretty spooky,” she said, kicking a discarded scrap of ‘DO NOT ENTER’ tape.

“Maybe we can put up some posters here,” Chloe offered. “Someone might’ve seen her recently. Hell, she might see ‘em and call you up.” Max nodded and took out the stack of Missing Persons flyers. Chloe snatched up a few and went to town, slapping one on the most obnoxiously visible places she could find; doors of the bathroom? Got a flyer. Bench? Flyer it. Side of the ticket machine?

“I think that’s illegal, Chloe,” Max interjected. Chloe shrugged and flyer’d the ticket machine.

“So, Max...listen,” Chloe said, smoothing out the creases of the flyer. “Sorry about that weird...thing on the way over here. I’m not mad at you or anything.”

“I know,” Max said. “I get it. Touchy subject and everything.” They continued for a bit in silence. Chloe pasted her last poster on a pole next to the rails and sighed. The station was a little spooky when it was abandoned like this. She turned and sat on a bench near where max was still diligently pasting flyers.

“Maybe…” Max started, and then trailed off. “Maybe it would help to talk about it?” She turned briefly to meet Chloe’s eyes and then looked away. “Sorry.”

“You’re right,” Chloe said. She ran a hand over her face. “God, I haven’t told anyone what happened, now that I think about it. Where do I even begin...?” She opened her eyes and found that Max was beside her on the bench, listening thoughtfully.

“Just start talking,” Max offered.

“Yeah, okay. Well...I was a majorly troubled kid in high school, right? Dad bit the dust when I was just a little kid, and my step-douche was a major shitlord. I had all this anger, y’know? I just...it felt like everything was out to get me, out to make my life a living hell. I sure as fuck don’t have it perfect right now, but...god, no one could pay me to go back to high school.” Chloe took a deep breath. Her heart was racing. _Never really told anyone all this,_ she reflected. _I mean, besides…_ “Rachel was my friend-- at first. She was so damn cool. She was so above it all, all the bullshit, like she was just on another level or something. I fucking worshipped her. And the best part was she actually wanted to hang around with my delinquent ass. One thing led to another and I ended up...kissing her. I mean, sure, we were both wasted and it was all joking and shit, but...it still meant something to me. I didn’t…” Chloe shut her eyes tight until stars burst behind her eyelids. “...That changed everything. I never thought about it, y’know? I went out with all the bad boys, sure, but that was all just for shits and giggles, make step-douche shit himself a little. We made out, we fucked shit up, the guy would try and get in my pants and I’d break it off when it wasn’t fun anymore. Rinse, repeat. But Rachel…Rachel was different. I kissed her and I felt...light as fucking air.” She took a shuddering breath. _Jesus, don’t cry. Don’t cry_. Max placed a warm hand on her back and it was all Chloe could do to keep herself from breaking down right there.

“...Anyway. So we went out for awhile and she ditched me for some guy.” Chloe felt a surge of anger and nausea rise up in her stomach. “Guess to her I was just…make out, fuck shit up, break it off when it’s not fun. Rinse. Repeat.”

“Chloe...I’m so sorry,” Max whispered.

“Don’t be,” she said. “She fucked us over, and then I fucked our friendship by blowing up over it. We both said things we regret.” A tear leaked out of Chloe’s eye despite itself and she wiped it away hurriedly. “Anyway. So that’s what’s going on with me.”

“Chloe,” Max said softly. “Hey.” Chloe turned to look at Max. She couldn’t help but notice how gentle she looked, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears, soft bangs falling across her forehead. _Too good for some asshole deviant like me,_ Chloe thought. Max leaned forward and for a moment a spark of panic fluttered in her chest, and then there were warm arms wrapped around her and the faint smell of vanilla and rain. Chloe let a few tears fall onto Max’s shoulder as they sat there, letting her tense body loosen and sink into her embrace. She closed her eyes. _God, when was the last time I felt like this?_ She thought through the haze of warmth suddenly flooding through her mind. _Even with Rachel..._

A noise. Chloe shot up, wiping the tears from her eyes hastily.

“Hello?” Max shouted.

“Shh,” Chloe hissed.

“What? Why?” Max whispered back.

“Don’t be that guy that yells ‘hello’ in an abandoned train station, come _on_. Haven’t you seen horror flicks?”

“Chloe, this isn’t the time for--” Max was cut off by a sudden flurry of noise echoing across the station. Max slowly stood and walked carefully over.

“Max. Max,” Chloe whispered. Max didn’t stop. Chloe made a frustrated noise deep in her throat and followed her, hand reaching for the switchblade tucked into the waistband of her pants. Just in case.

The next platform over came into view slowly and soon Chloe saw the person in question: small, about Max’s height, with their back turned towards them, wrapped in an oversized gray hoodie. They had ripped off a ‘missing person’ flyer that Max had posted earlier and were examining it.

“Kate?” Max said, and the person froze. “Kate, is that you…?” Max stepped forward cautiously, but the person still didn’t move. Chloe’s grip tightened around the switchblade. For a moment everything was frozen with tension.

Then the person bolted.

“Shit!” Chloe cursed, and immediately sprinted after the person in the gray hoodie. She caught ahold of Max’s hand, pulling her along behind her as they ran. Chloe’s heart had jumped up to her throat; all she could feel was her feet pounding the pavement underneath her, one arm pumping at her side as she gripped Max’s hand with the other. A cold fall wind whipped through the train station, ruffling the flyers pasted to the walls as they went. The girl in the gray hoodie swerved out from the train station and Chloe followed suit with Max in tow; out from the parking lot and into the woods surrounding the station they ran, past bushes and clawing shrubbery that groped and tugged at their baggy clothes. Chloe and Max crashed after them through the underbrush, furiously trying to shield their faces from the branches whipping past. Up ahead, Chloe saw the back of the person’s hoodie catch on a tree and the hood was yanked off…

Chloe saw a flash of blonde hair framing a pale face and she was gone.


	5. Max Caulfield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much update! Wow!!  
> Another chapter. A good chunk of it is Max being Very Gay.  
> Enjoy.

“Max!” Chloe yelled. Max didn’t respond. _Why is she running from me? I just want to help. Kate...Kate, come back...please!_ She pushed branches and undergrowth out of the way with her scraped arms. Her legs burned, and her throat was sore every time she gasped for breath, but she dared not stop. _I’ll explain everything,_ Max thought. _When I catch up I’ll tell her everything, and-- and I’ll apologize and say how far I came to find her and she’ll have to come back, right?_

“Max, would you stop!” Chloe shouted.

“I--can’t--” Max gasped. “Kate--she’s--” Max pushed through the bushes and something hit her square in the shins, knocking her forwards and sending her crashing to the ground.

“Oh, fuck, Max...you okay?” Chloe asked. Max pushed herself up. She ached all over, inside and out.

“I lost her…” Max said numbly, and a painful sob was wrenched from her chest.

“Oh...oh, that’s...I’m...sorry…” Chloe said hesitantly. She crouched next to Max, awkwardly placing a hand on Max’s shaking back. “I...I’m sorry, I’m not good at...oh, fuck it. C’mere.” She wrapped her arms around Max, squeezing tight.

I was so close. I was so, so close...Max thought. She took a shuddering breath.

“Hey...c’mon, you’re not just gonna give up now, right?” Chloe said. Max felt surprisingly gentle fingers rubbing tiny circles on her back. “Not when you’re so close. Right? She knows you’re here now. Everything’s gonna be okay.” Max relaxed only a tiny bit, allowing herself to take a deep breath, and slowly hugged Chloe back. “It’ll be okay, kid.” Max closed her eyes, steadying herself.

“Chloe?”

“Hmm?”

“...I’m only a year younger than you.” Max finished.

“You ass,” Chloe said, laughing despite herself. She let go-- _Don’t go,_ Max thought, and she considered pulling Chloe back in-- and studied Max’s face. “You okay, Max?”

“I’m getting there,” she replied sheepishly. She looked around. _None of this is ringing a bell,_ she realized. _Shit. How far from the station are we?_ “Uh, Chloe? Are we...lost?”

Chloe looked around for a second and then shrugged. “Maybe. Guess we should just wander for a bit till we find the station.” She rose, offering a hand to Max. She stared at it for longer than she should’ve, finally taking Chloe’s warm hand in hers to stand.

“Sorry,” Max said, sniffing self-consciously. “I’m...kinda a mess.”

“‘Kinda’ doesn’t even begin to describe _me_. This is a no-judging zone,” Chloe said. Her eyes traced Max’s scraped arms, her dirty knees and finally her face. _Probably covered in snot and dirt,_ Max thought, flinching at the thought. Chloe’s eyes lingered a little while on her face-- If Max knew any better she could’ve sworn her eyes flicked down to glance at her mouth-- and Chloe’s hand reached up to touch her face.

Max heart became rapid in her chest, threatening to escape her ribcage. An insistent thought pushed its way to the front of her mind. _I want to kiss her_. Max felt literally weak at the knees at the very prospect, but the thought wouldn’t leave. _I want to kiss her I want to kiss her i wanttokisshersobad._ Max’s eyes sank down to look at Chloe’s lips. _IWANTTOKISSERIWANTTOKISSHERIWANTTO--_

Chloe brushed a clod of dirt off Max’s face and grinned. “We better get moving,” she said finally, and turned to begin walking back.

“Y-yeah! Gotta get back to the station before it gets all, uh, dark and...murdery,” Max said too loudly.   _What the fuck is wrong with you?_

“Aw, you scared, kiddo?” Chloe teased. Max was too preoccupied to snipe back.

_Was that just...like, a random impulse? What the hell, brain, why are you freaking out over this ONE GIRL you met yesterday? It...that didn’t mean anything, right? You’re not...I mean, I know other kids that...b-but not you, that’s...oh god, what if I’m super gay? What are my parents going to say? What about that guy you kissed that one time in seventh grade? Does that count? Does that disqualify me? Okay, okay, slow down, Max. You’re not automatically gay. Lots of girls kiss other girls platonically. Right?_

Max’s eyes glued themselves to the back of Chloe’s head. _Maybe it’s just like...Chloe looks like a guy, kinda...no, no that isn’t it...maybe it was totally random. Yeah. Like when you’re standing someplace high and you feel like jumping all of a sudden. Doesn’t mean you’re actually gonna jump, right? Everything’s fine. I’m totally fine._

Max’s eyes wandered down Chloe’s back and lingered on her butt. _It’s kinda cute_ , the voice in Max’s head said. Max immediately forced her gaze onto the ground, flushing a deep shade of red. _What. The. Hell._

“Everything okay back there?” Chloe asked, shattering Max’s internal screeching.

“What? Yeah! Doing strai-- great! Doing great!” Max babbled. She flushed deeper, sure Chloe would grin and call her on it, but instead Chloe looked...worried.

“Hey,” she said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Max almost jumped. The spot where her hand rested tingled. “It’s okay. We’ll find her, okay? The train’s probably gonna take a few more days to get fixed. We’ll find her.” Max took a deep breath.

“Yeah. Okay,” she said. She smiled in a way that she hoped Chloe thought was convincing. _Why the hell are you freaking out, Max? Your best friend is missing and you’re worried you’re gay? Jesus._

“But for now, let’s find the station.” Chloe began walking again, this time sliding her arm around Max’s shoulders. _Calm down,_ Max scolded to herself. _It’s platonic. There’s no chance in hell._

“I think I see them,” Max said, pointing ahead where the trees thinned out. Chloe darted forward-- Max felt a wave of disappointment followed by another wave of confusion-- and followed Chloe out into the clearing.

“Well...it’s a starting point,” Chloe said. In front of them the tracks stretched lengthwise in either direction, in the far distance a blurry smudge of the station. “Come on!” Chloe slid down the sloping ground to hop onto the train tracks. “Check it!” Chloe boasted, balancing each foot in front of the other as she walked along a single track.

“Pff. That’s not so hard,” Max scoffed. “Watch.” She stepped onto the rail parallel and walked confidently forward.

“Show-off,” Chloe scoffed, just before her boot slipped off the railing. Chloe flailed comically before regaining her balance. Max laughed and instinctively reached her hand out to steady her, falling suddenly silent when Chloe took it and didn’t let go.

They walked like that along the tracks, both stretching their arms out to balance and holding the other’s hand with their free arm. The golden autumn twilight washed over the entire scene, bathing everything in sunlight. Max felt for a second completely at peace. She wanted to savor the moment while it was still shimmering in the air-- the warmth of Chloe’s hand in hers, the steel beneath her shaky boots, the light breeze rustling the tops of the trees…

“Chloe,” she said suddenly. “Have we been here before?” Chloe looked up and Max caught her bright blue eyes in hers.

“I...what do you mean?” She asked. Max opened her mouth, then shut it again.

“I don’t know,” she confessed. “This feels familiar, I guess. I dunno how to describe it, really. That sounds pretty weird, I guess.”

“No, no, I know what you mean,” Chloe insisted. “But...yeah, I guess it is kind of a weird feeling.” Both fell silent.

“So,” Chloe started again, “Kate’s...really special to you, huh?”

“She’s my best friend,” Max said softly. “She’s...it’s like she was my second mom at Blackwell. Or a younger sister, maybe?”

“Oh,” Chloe said, sounding...relieved?

“Like family,” Max decided. “She was always there for me whenever I needed anything. It didn’t matter how big or small it was.” She shook her head, smiling softly. “I can’t tell you how many times I came to her homesick, and she was there with a shoulder to cry on and a cup of warm tea. Or how much she pushed me to enter photography contests at school. Or…” Max stopped suddenly. “God, she deserved so much better.”

“Max?” Chloe said.

“I mean, for awhile she’s been….not herself. Both of us were picked on at school...but she got picked on more. For a lot of things, I guess. It got bad near the middle of this year, but I just...i wasn’t there for her the way she was for me.” Max’s heart ached, a familiar pain like an old scar hurting, right across her chest.

“You are a good friend, Max. You followed her all the way out here because you’re a good friend,” Chloe said.

“I guess,” Max said. “But I thought she was getting better. The couple days before she left, she seemed...not happier, but she had more energy, it seemed like. She was so much more calm, and...and she was smiling again. It seemed like she was getting better, finally. And now this?”

“You’ll find her, I promise,” Chloe said. “You’re a good friend, Max.”

“You’ve known me for two days,” Max chided.

“I mean, yeah, but I can tell,” Chloe said playfully.

“...Thank you,” Max said. “For everything. You’ve been...incredible.”

“My pleasure,” Chloe said evenly.


	6. Chloe Price

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe for problematic fave 2k15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned from fluff to angst reeeaaaall quick >.> Just a few warnings, this chapter is a little more emotionally intense and deals a lot with recovering from a breakup, feeling forced into a relationship, heartbreak, etc. so be warned!

“Hold still,” Chloe said, furrowing her brows. Max squirmed under her firm grasp. “I said _still_. What’re you, five?” Max made a whimpering noise and Chloe rolled her eyes. “It’ll only hurt for, like, two seconds. Ready?” Max nodded silently and Chloe pressed the alcohol wipe to the cut.

“Ow! Owowowow…” Max hissed. She kept her arm agonizingly still as Chloe wiped carefully at the gash on her arm from a thornbush and placed a band-aid over it carefully.

“Baby,” Chloe teased. “One more.”

“Okay. But Chloe?” Chloe turned. “...Can I have a Spider-Man band-aid this time?” Max asked sheepishly.

“Why Spider-Man?” Chloe laughed. Max reddened.

“Well...I have Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America…” Max said, pointing to her arm, elbow, and knee consecutively, “But no Spider-Man yet. I don’t wanna break up the Avengers,” she explained with a very serious face. Chloe managed to nod solemnly before cracking up. “What?” Max said, but she giggled. “We can’t have two Iron Mans,” she laughed.

“Nerd. Okay, Spidey it is,” Chloe said. She applied the last band-aid and smiled at her handiwork. “There. All fixed up and ready for detectiving.” Max hopped down off the kitchen counter where she was perched.

“Thanks, Chloe.” Max said. She smiled and Chloe swore the room got brighter. Her heart skipped in her chest.

“It’s no big deal,” she replied, quelling her sudden impulse to kiss her right then and there. _Keep it in your pants, Price._ “What d’you want for dinner? I’ve got...uh…” Chloe opened the fridge and surveyed the contents. “...Okay, that will probably kill us...raw garlic...ketchup…”

“I could make something,” offered Max. Chloe looked up in surprise. Before she could open her mouth to object, Max was peering in the pantry, taking boxes of pasta out and examining expiration dates.

“...Sure, I mean, if you want,” Chloe replied as Max raided the fridge for vegetables.

“It’s no problem at all. It’s actually pretty calming, y’know? Just focusing on cooking for awhile instead of all this bullshit.”

“Need any help?” Chloe asked hesitantly.

“I think I’m okay for right now,” Max said, and Chloe shrugged, sitting on the couch opposite the kitchenette. She watched Max work for awhile, then tapped both her feet anxiously. _Goddamnit, can’t take just sitting here_ , she thought. She grabbed her guitar and picked out a few loose notes experimentally. The strings vibrated softly under her fingertips comfortingly. She closed her eyes and strummed, listening to the rich sound reverberate through the guitar’s body, and began to sing.

_“When you were here before_

_Couldn’t look you in the eye_

_You’re just like an angel--”_

Max looked up from where she stood in the kitchen to watch Chloe play, fingers darting up and down the guitar neck, music floating off her fingertips and drifting to dissolve midair.

_“You float like a feather_

_In a beautiful world_

_I wish I was special…_

_You’re so fucking special...._

Max studied her face. It was like she was in the middle of that concert again, eyes shut, completely wrapped up in the music. Chloe looked...well, she looked beautiful.

_But I’m a creep_

_I’m a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don’t belong here..._

In Chloe’s pocket, her phone buzzed. Her eyes snapped open, and Max looked away hastily. Chloe took it out and read the words typed out on the glowing screen:

**I want to talk to you. Pick up. --RA**

She can get stuffed, Chloe thought. She typed with shaking fingers: **Go fuck ursel** \-- The phone buzzed again before she had a chance to respond.

**Please, Chlobear? --RA**

Chloe clenched her fists at the old nickname. She deleted her response and replied:

**U can’t fucking call me that. Not anymore. --CP**

She felt angry tears rise to her eyes and somehow that only made her angrier. _Who the fuck does she think she is?_ The phone buzzed.

**Chloe. I don’t want to fight, k? --RA**

“Everything okay?” Max called from the kitchen. Chloe straightened up and gave a half-hearted thumbs-up. Max looked worried, but turned back to her cooking. Chloe stood, pocketing her phone.

“I’m just gonna be in my room, alright?”

“Okay. I’ll be here if..if you need, okay?” Chloe nodded halfheartedly and strode into the cluttered bedroom, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath, heart pounding in her chest. She sat on the bed, pulled up the contact, and pressed “call” with a shaking finger.

Her heart spiked at the dial tone. _Get ahold of yourself, Chloe. God, it’s just your backstabbing ex._

“Chloe?” Chloe’s heart stopped. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Chloe said, managing to keep her voice even.

“It’s been awhile, huh?” Rachel said. Despite everything, despite the history they had, despite the cheating and messiness, Rachel’s voice sounded...nice. _No,_ Chloe reminded herself. _Don’t. You’ll only get hurt. Remember what she fucking did._  “How’s the band doing?”

“Don’t bother, Rachel,” Chloe snapped, trying to mask how badly she was shaking. “What do you fucking want?” The other end was silent for a second.

“Jesus, Chloe, could you not be such a huge fucking bitch?” Chloe flinched.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, I--” Chloe heard Rachel take a deep breath. “No. No, I don’t want to fight.”

“Just get to the point,” Chloe growled.

“The point was I wanted to meet up again,” Rachel said simply. Chloe’s stomach twisted itself into a knot. “But I guess you’re not interested in being friends.”

“ _Friends?_ ” Chloe shouted. “That’s fucking rich. I didn’t see you wanting to ‘stay friends’ when you fucking cheated on me with your drug dealer. Or am I supposed to forget you were sucking his dick and still had the _gall_ to kiss me?”

“You’re still on that? God, Chloe, grow the fuck up. I was hoping you’d have moved on,” Rachel said, voice growing louder and angrier by the second.

“Moved on? That wasn’t even a fucking year ago, Rachel! My best friend stabbed me in the back and, what, I’m just supposed to let that shit go?” Chloe was standing now, hand fisted at her side.

“‘Best Friend’? Please, you were just using me to get in my fucking pants and you know it. The second I didn’t want to spend every waking minute around you, you flipped the fuck out, Chloe!” Rachel’s voice was getting higher by the second. “You were acting like my psycho girlfriend before we were even _dating!_ ”

“Don’t try and act like you’re a fucking saint here, Rachel,” Chloe snarled.

“What was I supposed to do, Chloe? It was fun kissing you, sure, but was I supposed to just flat-out say I didn’t want to do the whole ‘relationship’ thing right to your face? Jesus, we were young and dumb and I felt like you’d ditch me the second I told you I didn’t wanna get all fucking _domestic_ with you!” Chloe’s blood ran cold.

“Rachel...what’re you saying? Th-that I forced you to date me? That’s bullshit.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to say no before we were somehow a couple,” Rachel said. “I never wanted this, Chloe. I never _wanted_ us to date. It was fun, when we were alone and just fucking around, but I didn’t want to be fucking Lesbo #2 of the entire school. And god, you could _not_  take a hint.”

“Rachel--”

“I thought I could learn to like you like that but, surprise, surprise, I didn’t. And you acted exactly like I thought you would when I broke it off to be with Frank. You didn’t want to be friends, Chloe. You wanted to use me for your little gay fantasy. And now, where are you? You dropped out of high school to play in a fucking garage band, and you lost your only friend.”

“Fuck you, Rachel,” Chloe snarled through gritted teeth.

“I thought you’d have grown up enough to patch things up, Chloe. I won’t make that mistake again.” And she hung up.

Furious tears coated Chloe’s face. She couldn’t remember when she started crying. Rachel’s voice still echoed in her head, bubbling up inside her stomach like puke until Chloe couldn’t hold it in anymore. She rose her fist and hit the wall as hard as she could. Pain rang in waves through her arm, but she hit again and again until her hand came away bloody.

“Chloe?” Max was suddenly in the doorway. Her eyes went from Chloe’s hand to her tearstained face and she immediately rushed over. “Chloe, what the _hell_. Are you okay? What happened?” Chloe took one look at her and broke down in tears. “Oh, god, come here,” Max said, wrapping her in a hug. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Creep by Radiohead (the song this fanfic was inspired by!). I think in a lot of ways the lyrics mirror Chloe's feelings both towards Rachel and Max. I hope you enjoyed the suffering.


	7. Max Caulfield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a spider landed on my laptop as I wrote this. I hope you all appreciate the pain I went through to write this

Dirty plates sat on the table, lying among discarded silverware and crumpled napkins. The radio above the sink was playing something soft and almost indistinguishable and it was dark outside the windows. Max rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder as she talked, hunched over on the couch next to her, face in her hands.

“Fuck her,” Chloe whispered into her hands, voice cracking. “Rachel can die in hell for all I care.” She wiped at her face and Max shook her head softly.

“Hey, don’t...don’t think about Rachel, okay? It doesn’t matter right now. Just...how are you feeling?”

“Like shit, how the fuck do you _think?_ ” Chloe snapped. She met Max’s gaze and shook her head in remorse. “...Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Max said. Chloe took a shuddery breath.

“I feel totally betrayed. Jesus, we used to be so fuckin’ close. Rachel was my entire world...was that all just a lie?” Chloe looked up at Max in desperation. _God, those eyes...This is the first time I’ve seen her look so hopeless._

“I...I dunno,” Max said honestly. “But...she was friends with you for a reason, right? Rachel wouldn’t have stuck around so long if she didn’t see how amazing you are.” Chloe snorted.

“You say that like I have redeeming qualities,” she said bitterly. She clutched her jacket tighter around her shoulders, shivering like she was cold. “How did I not see it before? Rachel was funny, smart, beautiful, everyone fucking loved her...why in hell would she wanna date some burnout whose only talent is fucking everything up?” Max began to reach for Chloe’s face and then hesitated. _Fuck it._

“Chloe,” Max said softly. She cupped Chloe’s face in her palm and Chloe turned to look at her. Electric blue eyes stared back at her and Max’s breath caught in her throat. _IwannakisshersobadIwannakissherIwannakissher_. Her heart raced in her chest, the warmth of Chloe’s face under her hand tingling like electricity. She felt herself being pulled in, and resisted it, fought the urge but everything was so _right_ \--

Some internal tether holding her back finally snapped, and Max leaned in all at once, catching Chloe’s lips on hers, feeling how soft and warm it felt, tasting the salt of her tears-

And then Chloe pulled away.

“What the fuck?” Chloe whispered. Max flinched. Her eyes had gone from soft and vulnerable to shards of ice. “What the _fuck_ ,” Chloe said, louder this time.

“Sorry!” Max said, holding her hands up as if defending herself. “I just-- I thought--”

“You thought what? Thought I’d be down for a quick make-out sesh just after my fucking  _ex_ called to remind me what a piece of shit I am?” Chloe spat. She stood, running her hands through her hair.

“I-it wasn’t like that, I swear, I--”

“Max, please, just...leave me alone, okay?” Chloe said without turning around. Max slumped in defeat. _I fucked it up. I fucked it all up_ , she thought numbly. And then: _I need to go back._

“Please don’t be mad,” She whispered, as though Chloe could sense what Max was about to do.

“I’m not, I’m just--I’m just confused, okay?” Chloe said. Max lifted her hand, ready to rewind, and pressed her eyes shut. “I mean, it’s not like I--”

Chloe’s voice melted away. Max felt dizzy for a moment, like she’d been lifted off the ground, and then she was back to reality just as soon as she had left.

“...Why in hell would she wanna date some burnout whose only talent is fucking everything up?” Chloe finished. Max shook off the dizziness for long enough to pull Chloe in for a hug.

“Chloe, listen to me. You’re amazing.” Chloe shivered a little under her arms, and Max squeezed tighter. “You’re...clever, and funny, and totally badass. You’re completely open and genuine and you don’t just stand by and watch when shit goes down. The way you play guitar...I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone light up like that,” Max said. She felt Chloe relax in her arms, and she reached up to take Max’s hand in hers. “Chloe, you’re…” Max faltered. “...You’re a good friend.”

“You think?” Chloe said.

“I know. I haven’t been with you for the longest, but...I can see it. It’s obvious.” Max grinned into Chloe’s shoulder. “You’re something special, Chloe Price.” She heard Chloe sniffle self-consciously, then chuckle.

“Glad someone thinks so.” She turned, shifting so she could hug Max back. Chloe took in a long, calming breath and sighed. Max felt the warm breath pool on the surface of her bare skin, right where her neck met her shoulder, and tried not to feel guilty at the goosebumps running down the length of her arms. “Thanks for being there for me, Mad Max. I’m so glad I met you,” Chloe said.

“So what you’re saying is…” Max leaned back to look Chloe in the eyes earnestly. “...’Thank you for getting smacked senseless in a drunken barfight’?” She cracked a careful smile and Chloe grinned back, bursting into loud laughter.

“Oh, totally. Had you not been clocked by some raging douchebro in a crappy bar, this whole thing would’ve just been wasted.” Her eyes gleamed mischievously. “So I guess I should send the Hallmark card to whoever that fucker was that decked you, huh?”

Max snorted and leaned back into the couch, mind buzzing with thoughts.

“Chloe?” She said.

“Hmm?”

“Do you really think that’s true?” Chloe turned to look at her.

“Am I really gonna send that guy a thank-you card? Uh, no.” She leaned her head down onto Max’s shoulder, blue hair splaying across Max’s shirt.

“No, no, I mean...do you think that fight is the only way we would’ve met.”

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked. Max went silent, searching for words to describe what she meant.

“Okay, so there’s this comic book I read when I was a kid, right? _Crisis on Infinite Earths_ ,” She said finally. Chloe snorted at the nerdy reference, but didn’t say anything. “...And there were, like...infinite realities. Every tiny decision you make, it splits off into two universes. So, like...there’s one where maybe I have...pink hair.”

“Pink hair?” Chloe interrupted. she smirked. “Hmm, now I’m thinking about it, it might not look so bad on you.”

“Yeah, well, in this universe, I chose to keep it brown, but in that one, it’s pink. Get it? There’s all these alternate dimensions where something is just a little bit different.”

“Okay,” Chloe said slowly.

“What I’m asking is...do you think that we only met because I was in that fight? What if I hadn’t gotten knocked out? What if I never went to that bar at all? What if your band never decided to play there?” Both girls went silent, soaking in the idea.

“I think…” Chloe said slowly. “...This is gonna sound weird, but...I think I still would’ve met you. I dunno, I always thought that if people were meant to be friends, then...the universe, or fate, or whatever, would work it out.” The words were barely out of her mouth when she snorted, waving away the idea. “God, that’s cheesy.”

“I think it’s nice,” Max said defensively.

“Yeah, well...maybe, I guess? That’s my answer. Maybe we’d have met, maybe not. the universe is big, and twisty, and kinda fucked-up.” Chloe twisted her head to smile up at Max. “But...you’re here with me now. So that’s the part I know for sure.” Max smiled back, a strange warmth settling in her stomach. “And the other thing I know is that I am hella tired, so you better get off my couch so I can fucking rest.” Chloe poked Max in the side for emphasis.

“What, and kick you off your own bed for the night? Fat chance,” Max said, crossing her arms stubbornly. “I’ll sleep on the couch for tonight. It’s only fair.” Chloe straightened up, studying Max’s determined face.

“Damn, you’re pretty serious about not moving off the couch, huh?” Chloe said. Max nodded. Chloe stood, stretching. “Well. Guess that really gives me no choice.” Before Max could react Chloe’s arms were prying her up off the couch and carrying her to the other room, bridal-style.

“Chloe!” Max half-squeaked. “Put me _down!_ ”

“Nope! You’re the guest and you’re taking the bed. And that’s that.” Chloe swept into the bedroom, tossing Max onto the mattress haphazardly. Max landed with a whump and scowled up at Chloe’s smirking face. “Nighty-night, Max,” she teased, and slunk back into the living room. Max stood, ignoring the flush of blood that suddenly flooded her cheeks, and walked back to the living room. Chloe was laid out across the length of the couch, arms behind her head. She opened one eye as Max approached.

“Hey there, Maximus Prime.” Max hunched her shoulders and leaned forward, wriggling one hand under Chloe’s legs and one under her torso. “Uh, Max? You know you’re not gonna be able to lift me.” Max pulled determinedly, but Chloe didn’t budge. She gathered her strength and tried again. “Ha! See? I’m not moving from this cou--” Before Chloe could finish her taunt, Max managed to hoist Chloe up into her arms.

“God damn you’re heavy,” Max managed to say. It felt like her arms were on fire.

“Then put me down you freaking maniac!” Chloe almost shouted. Max took the one step, then another towards the bedroom. “Jeez, you’re really trying to show me up on this, aren’t you?” Chloe said.

“Almost...there…” Max strained. She carried Chloe the final few steps, then tossed her onto the bed, huffing and puffing, and flopped down beside her.

“Wow. I’m impressed,” Chloe said dryly.

“Shut...up…” Max huffed. Chloe smirked.

“Okay, okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll stay in my own bed for tonight.” Max smiled triumphantly. “But! You are too. Compromise, yeah?” Chloe rose from the bed and pulled out a pair of boxers and a baggy t-shirt. “For you,” she said, tossing them right onto Max’s head, and the world went dark for a moment. Max sat up, disgruntled, and pulled the shirt off her head.

Chloe was shirtless in front of her, smooth back facing where Max sat blushing on the bed. Her shoulders look broader when her shirt’s off, Max thought, and her gaze strayed from the nape of Chloe’s neck and down her soft skin to the small of her back, soaking up every inch of the sight before her. She jerked away when she realized what she was doing, guilt rising up the back of her throat like bile. What the fuck is wrong with you? She thought, but this time she heard Chloe’s voice instead of her own admonishing her.

She changed quickly into the pajamas Chloe gave her, then burrowed under the soft covers. It smelled like something familiar, like leather and old cigarette smoke and something else, some warm, inviting scent Max couldn’t identify. _Chloe, she decided. It smells like Chloe._

“Hey, you. Scootch over,” Chloe said, and soon she felt another body pressed up against her back. Max’s breath hitched in her throat, and she allowed Chloe enough room to get comfortable. The lights were off now-- she hadn’t noticed under the thick comforter-- and she couldn’t see where Chloe lay next to her as much as feel her there.

“Good night,” Max said softly.

“‘Night, Max,” Chloe said back, voice soft with drowsiness. Max shut her eyes, but couldn’t find the peace to drift off. She could feel Chloe’s form next to her in the dark, could hear her breathing grow slower and steadier. Max flipped over on the bed, facing Chloe. She could just make out her face in the darkness, and she stared long and hard at it. Her face looked less angry now, more relaxed, at peace, than when she was awake. Max had the sudden urge to reach out and touch her, but she held herself back. _Before I do something I regret,_ she thought. The pangs of guilt from her rewind seemed less real in the darkness, though, and Max allowed herself to remember, just for a second, what Chloe’s lips felt like against her own.

Max finally managed to drift off into uneasy sleep, dreaming of spiraling winds that tossed the ocean, of lighthouses and deer with piercing black eyes. She dreamed of rain-soaked blue hair and a pair of lips that kissed her urgently, lovingly, goodbye.


	8. Chloe Price

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some quiet time and nice fluff before shIT HITS THE FAN  
> stay tuned, yall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some warning, this and chapter 9 are the reasons that this fic is rated M...  
> This chapter has some (relatively mild) sexual stuff, so be warned!

Chapter 8-- Chloe Price

 

Chloe drifted in and out of consciousness, wakefulness coming in waves. Something sharp jutted into her ribcage that felt suspiciously like an elbow. She shifted until she was comfortable and drifted back into her dark, warm, sleep. Light began to stream in through the window. She grunted and shifted over onto her side, trying to block it out, and found something soft and warm. She snuggled up to it and sighed contentedly, drifting back off once again. The warmth shifted over until a weight settled on Chloe’s chest. Without waking fully, Chloe raised a sleep-numbed hand to pat the weight atop her and found soft hair lying across her heart. Satisfied, she pulled the body closer against her and drifted off into semi-awake dreams. 

When she finally opened her eyes to the world, she realized it was almost ten. The window streamed golden light from beneath the curtains, and sounds of muffled traffic leaked in from the city streets below her apartment.  _ It feels so peaceful,  _ Chloe thought. She tried to sit up, realized once more that someone was sleeping on her chest, and lay back down again. She looked down to see the top of Max’s head, soft brown hair spilled across the front of Chloe’s t-shirt.  _ She’s a cuddler. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all.  _ Chloe smiled sleepily and traced a hand down Max’s back, soft enough not to wake her.  _ I just want this to last a little longer,  _ Chloe thought to herself.  _ Everything is so nice right now.  _ She leaned her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes, yellow morning sunshine pressing at the back of her eyelids, and felt Max breathe. She could feel the rise and fall of her chest through her hand resting on her back, could hear the gentle sounds of her sighing in her sleep.

Chloe felt her heartbeat thudding in her chest, gently but steadily, pulsing in her throat and legs and hands. She wondered if Max could hear it too, pressed up against her chest. Max twitched in her sleep and whimpered.  _ Wonder what she’s dreaming about,  _ Chloe thought absently. Max’s hand twitched and moved to grab at Chloe’s shirt in her sleep before relaxing again. Chloe’s face flushed, torn between staying still or risking Max waking up to move her hand off Chloe’s left boob.  _ Maybe just let her wake up like that,  _ Chloe thought devilishly.  _ If anything, the reaction will be funny.  _ She closed her eyes again and pretended to sleep.

Chloe dozed, drifting in and out of the kind of dreams that floated like mist before disappearing, until she lost all sense of time altogether. She was only jerked awake when, at long last, Max sighed loudly and stirred, rubbing her eyes. 

“You awake, Max-o?” Chloe asked. 

“Mmm.” She looked up at Chloe, hair in an adorable mess, eyes bleary with sleep, and finally registered where she was. “Oh. Hey.” She smiled sleepily. 

“Hey, sleepyface. Finished feeling me up?” Chloe smirked. Max’s eyes went from Chloe’s face to her hand and immediately her face burned red. 

“S-sorry!” she scrambled off of Chloe, to Chloe’s immediate dismay. 

“‘S fine, really,” Chloe said. She sat up and stretched. “Better than you jutting your elbow into my side, anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m...I’m a cuddler,” Max confessed. “Sorry.” 

“Eh, it’s not really like you’d have anywhere else to go anyways. I’m a sprawler.” Chloe sat up and yawned. “Well. I’m gonna take a shower, and you have free reign over my closet if you promise to have free reign over my kitchen, too.” She winked at Max on her way out, just to see Max blush again. 

Chloe leaned against the cool bathroom door and sighed.  _ God, you’ve gotta stop crushing on every cute girl you meet, Price,  _ she thought. She switched on the shower to drain out her thoughts with the noise of rushing water and stripped, tossing clothes haphazardly around the already-messy bathroom. She stepped into the shower and flinched.  _ Jesus, why’s this piece of shit take so long to heat up?   _ She grit her teeth and stood under the spray, watching the water drip from the ends of her hair and stream down her chest in rivulets. The water eased into warmth, and she relaxed, turning to let the water hit her face. Her thoughts began to wander freely. Rachel’s words still echoed in her head:  “ _ I felt like you’d ditch me the second I told you I didn’t wanna get all fucking domestic with you!”  _ Chloe shivered.  _ Did I really act that goddamn selfish? Jesus.  _ She stared at the water swirling around the drain.  _ Did she use me? Or did I use her? Or...both?  _ She blinked water out of her eyes.  _ Wonder if she even liked...being with me. Holding hands. Kissing...Other stuff. Wonder if she feels as fucking guilty as I do right now.  _

Chloe slicked her hair back, distracting herself by pouring shampoo into her palm and lathering it into her hair. Her thoughts wandered to better things. She hummed a guitar solo she was supposed to be practicing, fingers working along the frets in her mind and tapping along with her left hand against her skull. She thought about trying to make up excuses for skipping practice yesterday. 

_ Why didn’t you show up? Ty would ask. None of your fucking business, she’d snarl. No, no Ty’s been looking to ride my ass anyway since the whole ‘arrested’ thing happened. Don’t wanna get kicked out, we’ve got a gig tonight anyways. Fine, so I’ll just...be honest? “Yeah, I was helping a not-a-friend, not-an-acquaintance but not-a-girlfriend either find her missing pal and maybe trying to impress her with taco dates?” god, no. Maybe just shrug. “I had stuff to do. Sorry.”  _

Her thoughts drifted to the gig tonight, to the growing knot of worry in her gut that always untangled itself the second she grabbed that mic.  _ I really wanna wear my nice t-shirt tonight. Did I wash it? I think I spilled some ketchup on it a while back...I wonder if Max will snag it instead.  _ The thought of Max wearing her shirt made her melt a little and her thoughts turned, invariably, to Max. Every coherent thought dissipated into a warm feeling flooding her chest.  _ Max _ . soft brown hair just grazing her shoulders and falling over her forehead, gently tousled in her sleep. Eyes that might be blue and might be something else, a misty gray when they caught the light that was almost translucent. Light freckles dotting her cheeks and on her nose that Chloe would, if allowed, count and name like constellations, tracing shapes with the tip of her finger. Her mouth...looked so soft and nice and Chloe wanted to kiss it so bad. She closed her eyes and indulged the thought, briefly, of leaning in and kissing her so gently once, twice, and Max would lean in for a third and kiss harder, show Chloe that she wouldn’t break into a million pieces if she touched her. And Chloe would tangle her hands in Max’s hair, anchoring herself to make sure it was real. She could almost feel Max’s mouth move against hers, feel her hands wrap around Chloe’s neck and wander down her back…

Chloe gasped. One of her hands had wandered a little too low.  _ Shit. Bad Chloe!  _ she reprimanded herself. She turned, flipping the knob all the way into the ‘cold’ setting and sat there under the freezing spray for as long as she could take before switching it off.  _ That’ll teach you. You horny teenager.  _

Max was in the kitchen when she was dressed and ready.  _ Aww. She’s wearing my “The Cure” t-shirt.   _ “You listen to that old-ass band?” She asked, gesturing to the shirt. Max turned around from her spot at the stove and grinned. 

“Hell yeah! I was  _ obsessed  _ with 80’s stuff in the ninth grade.” She offered the pan out to Chloe. “Eggs?”

“Sounds fucking great,” Chloe said. She cleared an empty space on the table and set down two (probably clean) plates. They ate in silence, not awkward, just enjoying the quiet for a bit while they could.


	9. Max Caulfield/Chloe Price

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where everything happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been listening to Tegan and Sara nonstop for two days because I am a walking lesbian stereotype  
> Warnings for this chapter include mentions of suicide and loss.

“Hey, Maximum Ride! Check it out!” Chloe clambered atop the rickety trash can and jumped, barely catching ahold of a windowsill and hoisting herself up onto her elbows.

“Jesus, Chloe! Careful!” Max shouted. Chloe pulled a face and mimed losing her balance before smirking.

“It’s fine, I’ve done this drunk before!” She placed a poster just above the window proudly. “I mean, I got a _wicked_ scar from it, but…”

“Get down, Chloe,” Max said, unable to keep the giggle out of her voice. Chloe bounded down with the effortlessness of an alley cat.

“Your move, Caulfield.”

“I didn’t know it was a competition now,” Max said. “Besides, nobody's even gonna be able to read it up there.”

Chloe rolled her eyes dramatically. “That’s hella not the point, Max Factor. Look, we’ve put these all over town by now. Pretty sure _everyone_ is gonna see them. Why not fuck around with the last ones we’ve got?” Max looked at the final flyer in her hands and chewed on her lip.

“Yeah, okay,” she said. “I’ll admit that was pretty cool, but how about…” She surveyed the alley. Finally she hopped up on a wobbly stack of crates and clambered onto the top of the wooden fence. Slowly, she rose, arms out like a tightrope walker.

“Woo! Look at this daredevil!” Chloe encouraged. Max grinned and turned slightly to look--

\--her foot missed the fence and she toppled to the ground. When she opened her eyes Chloe was looming above her, inches from her face.

“Jesus, Max, you okay?” Max rose slowly. The back of her head throbbed painfully.

“Yes,” she lied.

“You’re a terrible liar, Caulfield,” Chloe said softly. “Here, where does it hurt?” She raised a hand to touch her head and Max tingled at the touch. Max looked up. Chloe was staring at her intently, something strange in her expression. _No...nonono, not this again,_ Max thought. Chloe’s voice came back to her, echoing in her mind: _“What the fuck is wrong with you?”_ And yet...she wanted to do it again. To make the same mistake and fuck up everything all over again.

She rewound before she could give herself the opportunity. The world blurred out of focus, the pain in her head fading away, and suddenly she was on top of the fence again.

“Woo! Look at this daredevil!” Chloe repeated from the ground. Max focused on her next step, then the next, until she was within reaching distance of the emergency ladder. She jumped, catching the bar in her hands, and scrambled to gain a foothold. She climbed it dutifully and placed a poster on the brick wall next to it, just higher than Chloe’s, and bounded down.

“Damn,” Chloe said, rubbing her neck. “Guess I’ve been one-upped.” She grinned, and Max’s heart fluttered traitorously in her chest. _Stupid gay feelings._

“Maybe that’ll get you to admit I’m a little bit of a badass?” Max said, trying to look as cool as possible. Chloe laughed. “What? I totally am!”

“Hmm. Maybe just the _tiniest_ bit.” Chloe’s phone made a pinging noise and she glanced at it briefly. “Yikes. Gotta go set up for the gig. Want me to drop you off somewhere?”

“Yeah, um...I was thinking about checking out the train station again,” Max said softly. Chloe looked down, caught somewhere between worry and a desire to not seem it.

“Okay, uh...yeah. That works. It’s about a mile from my next gig, so if you need to you can walk there from here. You have the address?” Max nodded.  “Sweet. I’ll drop you off.” They climbed into the truck and Chloe switched on the engine. The radio blasted as soon as the car started.

“ _Jesus!_ ” Chloe yelped, turning the volume down. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“D’you mind if I--?” Max gestured toward the radio.

“No, go ahead,” Chloe said. Max fiddled with the radio, switching stations until she was satisfied.

“Ew, what the hell is this? Country?” Chloe said reflexively.

“Country _rock_ ,” Max justified. “Give it a try.” Chloe grumbled, but didn’t switch it off. they drove in silence, sunset tinging the horizon with a pale orange.

_“You’re a bottlecap away_

_From pushing me too far_

_The problem’s getting big…”_

Max closed her eyes and tried not to think about what happened if she didn’t find Kate tonight. She tuned into the guitar and quick drums, the singer with the Texan accent crooning in the foreground.

_“I was born in the_

_Backseat of a_

_Mustang on a_

_Cold night in a hard rain…”_

Max’s dad liked this kind of music a lot when she was younger. The familiar riffs and beats were comforting and made her ache in a way she didn’t want to think about too hard.

_“...And the very first song that the radio sang_

_was ‘I won’t be home no more’._

_And I won’t be home no more.”_

Chloe was looking at her. Max didn’t want to look, but she could feel it. That little movement at the corner of her eye, that shiver at the back of her neck.

_“I’m pulling off the road,_

_I’m opening the door,_

_I’m giving you the pavement, I’m telling you what for…”_

She felt so damn guilty for kissing her, for taking advantage of her weak moment and then turning around and being too cowardly to face up. _It’s like I used her,_ Max thought. _Just after she was crying her eyes out about Rachel doing the same thing. And she’ll never know._ Max shivered.

_“...And you’re getting smaller in my rearview mirror,_

_Getting smaller in my rearview mirror…”_

“This is it,” Chloe said, pulling into the station parking lot. “Gotta hand it to you, Maxaroo. Not exactly my cup of tea, but the tunes weren’t... _that_ bad.”

“Told you,” Max said, forcing a smile. She felt sick. She turned to open the car door.

“Wait!” Chloe said. Max turned. Chloe dug in her pocket and handed Max something small and metal.

“A...switchbade?” Max said incredulously.

“Only if you _absolutely have to._ This town is hella sketchy.” Max hesitated, then clipped the knife to the waistband of her jeans. “And, uh, M-Max?” Max met Chloe’s eyes. She looked surprisingly worried and...something else Max couldn’t place.

“Yeah?”

“Just...be careful, okay?” Max nodded.

“Okay.” She slid out of the passenger seat and shut the door behind her. Chloe shot her a reassuring look one last time before her truck rumbled away. Max took a deep breath and turned, footsteps echoing on the pavement on the way to the station. A chilly breeze caught her in the face and she shivered, pulling Chloe’s jacket tighter around her. The station was still empty, save a few pieces of trash tossing in the wind. Max sat on the bench facing the tracks, eyes forward and glazed over in thought.

*****

Chloe plucked the strings on her guitar experimentally, twisting the peg back and forth until the string slowly matched the correct pitch.

“ _Test, test...this is a mi-ic-ro-phooone te-est,”_ Danny, the bassist, falsettoed into the mic.

“Sounds good,” the soundcheck guy said. Chloe started noodling aimlessly on her guitar, strutting from a simple scale up into an improvised riff. She worked her way up the guitar neck, notes getting higher and clearer, fingers moving fast along the fingerboard until she let the notes fall back into empty air and finished with a blasting G chord.

“Damn, Price. You’ve really stepped up your game. I remember when you joined up you could barely tell an amp from a A-flat.” Chloe looked up to see Ty grinning appreciatively next to her.

“Damn straight. Kinda just bluffed my way through back then, to be honest.” She put the guitar gently next to her on the floor. “What’s up?”

“Give it to me straight, Chloe. Why’d you miss practice yesterday?” Ty fixed her with a stare and Chloe immediately flushed.

“I-- I, um. Had things to do,” she stuttered.

“Bullshit,” Ty said. Something about the calm way he said it made Chloe uneasy; usually, he’d be all huffy and shit, pre-gig stress whipping him into an uptight jackass. But it was like Ty didn’t even mind at all. Chloe sighed.

“Look, there was something that came up, okay? This friend of mine, she-- well, her friend ran away, and...and…” Ty held up a hand to stop her.

“Chloe. This is our last gig.” Chloe’s eyes flew open and she was on her feet in a second.

“What? What d’you mean it’s our _last fucking gig?_ ” Her hands balled at her sides in fists. _Last gig. Last gig._ The words echoed in her head, throbbing like an angry vein. “Why?”

“Chloe,” Ty said, and reached out to give her a comforting pat on the shoulder. She jerked away.

“ _Why?”_ She snapped.

“Look, Danny’s going back to community college, okay? And he can’t pay tuition with just the cash we get on gigs, there’s no fucking way. He’s going to be working full-time and going to school and there just won’t be time.” Ty looked away. “And...I got another offer.”

“You gotta be joking,” Chloe said. “You’re fucking bailing on me?” Ty looked genuinely hurt at that.

“Chloe, you’re a great kid. And I love this band, I just…” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

“Not enough to stick around for it,” Chloe spat.

“Chloe, for _god’s_ sake, just listen!” Ty shouted. His shaggy brown hair fell over his eyes and he brushed it out of the way with his palm. He almost looked teared up-- Chloe felt a pang of sympathy in between the anger flooding her chest. “I got an offer to drum for the _Nightlight Muggers_ , Chlo. They’ve already got this huge rep, and...y’know, I could actually pay off my college debt with more gigs, and...and…” Ty sighed and looked at the ground. “...I’m sorry, Chloe. we were gonna tell you yesterday, but…” Chloe opened her mouth to say something biting, but nothing came out. She took a deep breath.

“Jesus, Ty. Don’t go crying all over me like that.” She stepped closer hesitantly and Ty looked up, face twisted with guilt and regret. “C’mere, string bean.” She offered her hand and Ty took it, pulling her in for a quick hug.

“Aw, what? Am I missing the group hug?” Danny bounded up and took Ty and Chloe each in one arm, lifting both up easily in a crushing hug.

“ _Fucking--”_ Chloe choked.

“ _Dan_ , I love you, man, but you’re breaking me,” Ty managed.

“I love you guys,” Danny said, loosening his grip a little. “I’m gonna miss the hell outta you.” Chloe stopped for a second before leaning into Danny’s sweaty, only a little crushing embrace. _I’m gonna miss it too,_ she thought.

*****

Max trudged back from the woods just as darkness began to tinge the air around her blue, leaves crunching under the soles of her sneakers as she made her way carefully back. She’d searched as far as she could without getting lost, hoping that somehow Kate had left a trace of evidence she could pick up. Nothing.

The station was growing almost too dark to see inside by the time Max saw it from the edge of the trees. The sight of it, all draped in shadows and eerily empty of people, made Max’s skin crawl. She her right hand lingered near Chloe’s knife, tracing the outline of the small metal object clipped to her jeans out of reassurance than anything else. As she approached, the streetlamps dotting the parking lot lit automatically, one by one illuminating a square of the lot in calming blue light. As she watched, the station lit itself from the inside, too, revealing stout steel benches seated under walls sporting peeling flyers. As Max watched, she noticed a figure sitting at the end of the station-- a girl, wearing a gray hoodie, sitting slouched on the bench. Her face was obscured by the hood and by the strands of blonde hair falling in her face, but Max recognized her immediately from the other day. _Kate._

Max forced herself to walk slowly, quietly, as if approaching a rabbit that could startle at any moment. Her heart pounded in her chest. She’d thought of a million different ways to ask a million different questions, but she’d forgotten every one. _Kate, oh god, Kate, it’s you._ Somewhere in her mind, it registered that her hands were shaking, that her legs felt fragile and limp, but she barely noticed. Kate was almost directly in front of her now. Without thinking, Max reached out her arm-- _I don’t know what I’ll say I don’t know what I’m doing oh god Kate I missed you so much Kate--_

She reached out and touched her softly on the shoulder. Slowly, she turned to face Max.

It took half a second for Max to process that the face looking back at her was familiar.

It took more than a minute for her to process that it wasn’t Kate’s face.

“Max,” Victoria said. “Oh god...Max, I’m so sorry…” She looked at her with wide, scared eyes that were swollen and red-rimmed, devoid of makeup. Her hair was messy and shaggy, falling into her face and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days.

“You’re...not…” Max whispered. She felt as though her heart had plunged down, right out of her chest.

“I didn’t mean to,” Victoria said. “Please, Max, you have to believe me, I didn’t think she’d…”

“Where’s Kate?” Max demanded, suddenly full of fire. Victoria looked up at her with strange eyes and fell quiet, searching Max’s face.

“You...don’t know?” Victoria said. “Max...Kate is dead.”

*****

“What’s up, party people? How’re you feeling the night thus far?” A half-enthused, half-drunk cry rose up from the small crowd gathered at the bar. “Yeah, well, let’s keep it up! The night is still young!” Chloe strummed a chord absentmindedly and took a deep breath. “So...I guess this is our last gig, so, uh…” she smiled defiantly and grabbed the microphone with both hands. “I love this band, and I love my guys, and I _fucking love this bar_ !” She whooped into the mic gleefully and scattered cheers rose from the crowd. “This is our last song, so. You bet your ass we’re gonna fucking blow your _minds._ One, two, three, _four!”_ she picked out the first opening notes of the song and the entire band crashed into the first lines with their entire hearts.

_“You hang around and walk_

_As I take_

_A drag…”_ Chloe sang. The noises of the bar faded until it was only her and the boys onstage, music swirling around them until everything was blissfully drowning in it.

  


“K-Kate...?” Max choked out.

“I’m sorry,” Victoria repeated, a sob cracking her voice. “Sh-she... _killed_ herself. I saw her. I saw her kill herself and I couldn’t…” Tears streaked lines in her dirty face. “Max, I’m so sorry. God, it’s my fault...this is my fault…” Max felt completely numb. She crumpled onto the bench next to Victoria.

“What happened?” she asked. Her voice sounded hollow and distant, like the words weren’t coming out of her own mouth. Victoria took in a shuddering breath.

“Sh-she was at the junkyard...I saw her from my car…” Victoria shook her head. “She had this...this rope, hooked up to a tree…” Victoria flinched, as if seeing it vividly in her mind’s eye. “I didn’t know I was...it was just a bunch of dumb teasing...I didn’t think it would...she would…” Max closed her eyes and pressed at them with her fingers until stars exploded in her vision, until her head pounded from the pain.

 

_“Learn to love the ways you are_

_Beautiful and broken heart_

_If perfect wounds won't leave a scar then_

_Everything will…”_ Chloe sang her heart out into the microphone, tears beginning to bud behind her eyelids.

 

“She’s not dead,” Max whispered. She could hear her voice in her mind right now. _Max! Oh good, I was hoping I could catch you…_ “She’s not dead,” she repeated. Her eyes sparkled when she laughed. Her smile was so bright and she was so kind and gentle. “Kate’s not dead.” She rocked back and forth soothingly on the bench, Victoria sobbing next to her as Max refused to cry, refused to think...if she could just keep Kate’s memory held in her mind, she was alive...her tiny smiles, her hair always falling in strands from her bun…

 

_“I awake as I wait for you, all alone_

_I'm thinking that time is what I use_

_While my bones are sinking_

_With the rocks I have glued to them…”_ A single tear began to leak from Chloe’s eye but she paid it no mind. The chords tingled under her fingers as the strings hummed.

 

“Kate,” Max said. “Kate...Kate Beverly Marsh.” It was like a prayer. She could feel her squeezing her hand tight, could hear her laugh and taste the tea she made for Max when she was down. “ _Kate.”_

 

_“Learn to burn the ways you are_

_Falling down and dreaming hard_

_If broken bones are perfect flaws, then.._

_Everything will…”_ Chloe was crying onstage and she didn’t care. She kept her voice steady, kept her eyes shut tight, completely in the moment.

 

It was like trying to hold water in her hands. The images came fast, in flashes, overwhelming everything inside Max: Kate smiling, Kate’s pencil tracing her drawings...her voice, her walk, the way she sounded when she cried...Max could barely hold it all in. _She looked so calm when I last saw her...I remember that she told me…_

_“Max?” Kate asked softly, tugging on the sleeve of Max’s hoodie. Max turned._

_“Yeah?” Kate had beamed then, and Max had realized it was the first time she’d smiled in months._

_“I think...you’re the best friend I have. I want you to know that...that it means so much to me, Max. Thank you.” She pulled her in close for a hug and Max sank into it. Kate was always touchy-feely, but this time felt...different. Tighter. More urgent._

_But Max had only hugged her back._

“Oh god...Kate,” Max said, and something in her broke.

 

 _“Everything…”_ Chloe sang. _“Everything…._

_Everything that’s broken_

_Will be…”_

 

“Kate,” Max sobbed. “Kate.” She buried her face in her hands and cried. _Kate is gone. She’s gone. She’s gone…_

 

_“Everything that’s broken_

_Will be all right.”_ and with the final note ringing out, Chloe opened her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to The_Demon_Lilith for recommending such an awesome song (Castling by Lovedrug-- god I love this song so much now. The other song at the beginning is Won't Be Home by the Old 97s), and to Oripoke for guessing the twist ending ahead of time!  
> Thank you for reading, as always.


	10. Chloe Price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.

 

Chloe took a long drag from her cigarette and sent a long stream of smoke out the window, spiraling like a ribbon from her lips to dissolve in the cold fall air. She gazed out across the school parking lot to study the stately building looming across the neatly-trimmed lawn.  _ Blackwell, huh?  _ She raised the cigarette to her lips and took another puff, ignoring the stares of the students eyeing her and her beat-up pickup truck. 

It was past dark when Max had shown up outside the bar. The look on her face scared Chloe-- it was like Max’s soul had left her body. It reminded her almost instantly of-- well, of herself, back when she’d lost her father. Chloe guessed almost instantly that the girl Max had brought beside her wasn’t Kate. 

Victoria had remained almost completely silent through Max’s entire explanation, save the occasional muffled sobs and sniffles from the backseat. Even on the drive back to Arcadia Bay, Chloe would glance in the rearview mirror to see a few tears leaking out of her eyes as she stared silently out the window. Max paid her almost no mind at all, only talking about Victoria and never to her. 

_ “Could you take us back to Blackwell?” she had said softly.  _

_ “You’re not…” Chloe said, and Max turned to smile dimly at her with those empty eyes.  _

_ “No. We’re still on for what we talked about earlier. I just...need to pick up some things. _ ”  

So here Chloe was, nervously parked in the lot at Blackwell, waiting for a girl she’d only met less than a week ago.  _ Price, what in hell are you doing?  _ She took a drag and sighed, smoke curling around her face.  _ Well, what am I supposed to do? Go back? Refuse Max’s offer and just go home, back to my shitty apartment I haven’t paid rent on, and start looking for available positions at Wal-Mart?  _ She closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. Her head hit the seat with a dull  _ thud. Everything’s shit, _ Chloe thought.  _ Real fucking insightful, Price. Super deep.  _

“Hey.” Chloe snapped up and turned to see Max standing just outside the truck, duffel bag slung over one shoulder. 

“Hey yourself,” Chloe said back. Max opened the passenger door, tossing her bag in the back seat with the rest of Chloe’s stuff. “You ready to go?” Max nodded silently and Chloe tossed her cigarette out onto the pavement below. The engine started up with a rumble and Chloe pulled out of the lot. Soon Blackwell faded into the distance, and after awhile Arcadia Bay disappeared, too. Chloe snuck a glance at Max. She was staring out the window, watching the trees blur past the window, face devoid of expression. Chloe fixed her eyes back on the road silently.

There was a small click and music began trickling from the radio softly. 

_ “When you wake what is it that you think of most? _

_ When your bed is empty do you really sleep alone?” _

“You okay, Max?” Chloe said. Max turned. “Sorry. That’s...a dumb question.”

_ “Stop crying to the ocean, stop crying over me. _

_ Stop worrying over nothing, stop worrying over me...” _

Max shrugged. “No, I guess I’m not.” she smiled, and a little of the light Chloe so missed came back into her eyes. “But I’ll be okay.”

_ “So  _

_ It's been so long since you said, _

_ Well I know what I want  _

_ and what I want's right here with you…” _

“That’s not just something you’re gonna just get over, Max,” Chloe said. Max fell silent. 

_ “On the drive back here I was worrying over nothing _

_ On the drive back there tears spilling over something _

_ When I imagine you, body next to another…” _

“I know,” Max said finally.

“You’re sure you wanna do this?” Chloe asked. “I could turn around and go back right now, if you wanted.”

_ “Stop crying to the ocean _

_ Stop crying over me. _

_ Stop worrying over nothing,  _

_ stop worrying over me…” _

“No,” Max said. “I’m sure.” Chloe nodded solemnly and fixed her eyes on the road.

The clouds finally gave in to their weight and rain began to fall in a slow drizzle, spattering the windshield and blending their surroundings like watercolor. Max felt her surroundings grow unfamiliar and the ache in her chest eased into a dull throb as she left her home behind with Chloe by her side.  __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 is finished...  
> Stay tuned for part 2 :)

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to post all the songs featured in this work as I am hipster trash and there will proooobably be a lot >.>  
> The first one is "Savior" by Rise Against and the second is "More than a Feeling" by Boston. Both are great, give 'em a listen!


End file.
